Souper Sunday #5: 'Get Well Soon' Soup

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It seems like everyone that I know is sick right now.

 

...or has just been sick this week or feels like they are getting sick.  I would fall into the latter category.  Ugh.  I hate the anticipation.

So, I thought it would be appropriate to make a classic chicken noodle soup for this week's Souper Sunday.  You know...carrots, celery, onion, chicken, noodles, broth, herbs...pretty standard stuff.  It's a feel-good kind of soup.  I'm sure everyone already has their own recipe for chicken noodle soup, but if not you can always borrow this one.

Whenever I think of homemade chicken noodle soup I always think of my mom's dad.  When I was younger and we would go visit my grandparents in Victoria for a weekend, my grandpa almost always had a gigantic pot of chicken or turkey noodle soup bubbling away on the stove.  It was soooo good...and I swear it had about 1/2 cup of salt in it, so no wonder!  He was known for his very salty, but very delicious chicken noodle soups.  Yum.  In this version of the soup, I didn't add any salt and used low-sodium chicken broth though.  I also used gluten-free corn spaghetti, which is the reason that my soup is so yellow.  I doubled this recipe so that The Hubby and I could have enough to eat for lunches at work all throughout the week.

Being sick sucks.  I hope everyone who is down for the count due to cold and flu season gets better soon.  The stomach flu is always good for a nice 5-pound weight loss, if there is any silver lining.  Speaking of which, tomorrow is officially the start of me not eating everything in front of my face regardless of how many calories are in it.  It's also the first day back to any sort of exercise regime in I-don't-want-to-admit-how-long...tomorrow night I have committed to a 90-minute Bikram Yoga class.  Fun?  I will probably regret the decision about 15 minutes into class when the 105 degrees fareinheit and 40% humidity conditions combined with me being out of shape in general all starts to kick in.  Can't wait!

'Get Well Soon' Soup

Serves: 4 (doubles easily!)

Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium carrots, cut diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices
2 celery ribs, halved lengthwise, and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
4 fresh thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
8 cups chicken stock
4 ounces pasta (I used gluten-free corn spaghetti)
1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 handful fresh parsley, finely chopped

Directions
Place a soup pot over medium heat and coat with the oil.  Add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, leaves from the fresh thyme, and bay leaf.

Cook and stir for about 6 minutes, until the vegetables are softened but not browned.  Pour in the chicken stock and bring the liquid to a boil.  Add the noodles and simmer for 5 - 7 minutes or until tender.  Stir in the chicken, and continue to simmer for another couple of minutes to heat through.  Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving.  Enjoy, and get well soon!

Recipe Source: Food Network - Tyler Florence

  

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